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Coltsfoot rock
A stick of rock flavoured with a wild plant once used for coughs. Coltsfoot Rock is made by just one company, in one Lancashire town.
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Coltsfoot Rock is a hard, brittle stick of rock flavoured with extract of the coltsfoot plant. It is made by Stockley's Sweets, a traditional sweet maker in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire, which created it and is still its only maker.
A plant for coughs
Coltsfoot is a wild plant, Tussilago farfara. Its scientific name comes from the Latin tussis, meaning cough, and it has been known by names such as coughwort for centuries. People once dried and smoked the leaves, believing it relieved asthma, and it was used in traditional medicine for coughs.
That reputation is where Coltsfoot Rock came from. Its history and popularity grew out of the plant's supposed medicinal benefits, in the same world of Victorian cough sweets and lozenges that gave Britain Victory V and cough candy.
A word of caution about the plant
The coltsfoot plant has a darker side. Scientists have found toxic compounds called pyrrolizidine alkaloids in it, which have raised concerns about liver health when the plant is used in herbal medicine. Coltsfoot Rock is a sweet, not a remedy, and it should be enjoyed as a treat, not taken as medicine.
One maker, one recipe
The recipe for Coltsfoot Rock is a secret kept by Stockley's Sweets. As they are the only maker, anything sold as Coltsfoot Rock has come from their traditional factory in Oswaldtwistle. The sweet has been recognised by regional tourism bodies and food organisations as a Lancashire speciality.
The home of the biggest pear drop
Stockley's has another claim to fame: the largest pear drop in the world is kept at Stockley's Sweets in Oswaldtwistle Mills. See pear drops.
Rock, but not seaside rock
Despite the name, Coltsfoot Rock is not like the lettered seaside rock of Blackpool or Brighton. It is a brittle stick of rock candy, closer to a hard boiled sweet. For the seaside kind, see seaside rock.
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
What is coltsfoot rock?
A hard, brittle stick of rock flavoured with extract of the coltsfoot plant, made by Stockley's Sweets in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire.
Is Coltsfoot Rock a medicine?
No. The coltsfoot plant was used in traditional medicine for coughs, but Coltsfoot Rock is a sweet and should be enjoyed as a treat.
Who makes coltsfoot rock?
Only Stockley's Sweets. The recipe is secret, and any product sold as Coltsfoot Rock comes from their factory.
Sources
- Coltsfoot Rock, Wikipedia
- Tussilago, Wikipedia
- Pear drop, Wikipedia
Keep reading
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- British heritage sweetsCough candyCough candy is a boiled sweet with a herbal flavour, sold in twists. It is a sweet, not a medicine: what is in it, and how it differs from lozenges.
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